Producer gas generator



May 2, 1933.

N. c. JONES 1,907,388

PRODUCER GAS GENERATOR Filed June 1930 Fig. 2.

(DZ rm 6. Jonas B) w (8%; am cy- 711M411, a

Patented May 2, 1933 UNITE NORMAN CLARKE JONES, OF LONDON, ENGLAND,ASSIGNOR- TO MOTOR OWNERS PETROL COMBINE LIMITED, 01'" LONDON, ENGLANDPRODUCER GAS GENERATOR Application filed June 9, 193C, Serial No.460,022, and in Great Britain June 10, 1929.

This invention relates to apparatus for the generation of. producer gasas used for the fuel supply of internal combustion engines and hasparticular reference to that class of 6 apparatus used in connectionwith automobiles, tractors, agricultural sets, small marine craft andthe like. Various fuels such as charcoal, sawdust, ordinary gas coke andother carbonaceous substances have been used in connection with thisclass of apparatus wherein the generator used for the purpose isprovided with an ordinary grate and the fuel is consumed for the purposeof gas generation by an up or down draught through the fuel.

Now with the employment as the fuel of low temperature coke, that is tosay, coke obtained from or by the low-temperature distillation of coal,when used for the purpose aforesaid and in a generator of the ordinarykind, owing to the intense heat emitted during the combustion of thefuel the excessive clinkering or collection of ash and slag on the grateis inevitable in consequence of which the quality of gas generated fallsand finally the generation of gas is quickly prevented because theadmission of air to support combustion becomes inadmissible orprevented.

The principal object of the present invention is to providemeans wherebythis low temperature coke can be used for the production or generationof producer gas and according to the present invention, whether it beapplied to a generator working on the up or down draught system, theordinary grate is dispensed with in a manner somewhat similar to thedown draft generator described in pat- .ent specification No. 1,523,163,and in substitution thereof an ashpan or receptacle is provided whichmakes provision for slag, ash and clinker for a considerable period andpermits the ingress of the air necessary for supporting the combustionof the fuel.

Incidentally by the construction of the generator according to thepresent invention when low temperature coke is used as fuel not only theup or down draught system may be employed but when tarry matter ispresent in the fuel a combined up and down draught system can beutilized whereby the richer gas obtained while the tarry matter isdestroyed.

By this means the advantages of each system I can therefore be obtamed.

Another object of the invention'istoprovide a gas generator of increasedoutput capacity in place of theordinary grate generator where theoutputdepends upon the grate area available.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description in which reference is made to the accompanyingdrawing.

In order thatthe invention may be more clearly understood and readilycarried into effect, reference may now be had to the accompanyingdrawing in which 1 Figure lis a diagrammatical cross section of theimproved generator.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectionalplan on line 00-00 of Figure 1 to alarger scale. 7

Figure 3 is a plan view of the ashpan of the 1 generator, and V Figure 4is a sectional elevation on line y of Figure 3. 1

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a modification in the construction of theashpan, the. former; being a sectional plan as viewed from line .e-zFigure 6 which is a sectional elevation.

Similar reference characters relate to like parts in all the figures orthe drawing.

Referring now to Figure 10f the drawing, the generator consists of twocylindrical drums 1 and 2 provided with flanges 3 and 4: which aresecured together by bolts in the usual lhe drum 1 forms the combustionchamber or gas generating compartment and is provided with a renewablelining 6 of refractory material or non-corrosive heat-resisting steelwhich is separated from the walls of the drum 1 by a partition ofinsulating material 7. The lining 6 rests upon a, steel angle ring 8which is welded on to the wall of is made possible by means of passages10 cut out from the vertical wall of ring 8. A door 11 (Figures 1 and 2)affords access to the combustion chamber and into the space made in thebase of the generator by the ring 8. The door 11 is of such size as tobe the full height of the ring 8 and as wide as the distance between thetwo vertical walls of the ring on line y y Figure 2. The door thusaffords complete access to the base of the generator for an ashpan orreceptacle 12. The ashpan or receptacle 12 which is made of suitableheat-resisting non-corrosive steel or metal alloy isof such size as willjust allow it to slide through door 11 into the space provided in thebottom of the generator by the angle ring 8, the bottom of the generatorbeing covered with a thin layer of fire cement or refractory lining 13.

The ashpan or receptacle 12 is provided with a base plate 14 and thevertical walls 16 are provided at the top with a bead or flange 17 sothat when inposition a space 18 is left between ring 8 and the wall 16.The wall 16 is provided with a number of slots or slits 19 which mayextend from the base plate 14 to the ledge 17 or be shorter if required,the said slots or slits being of any suitable width. The ashpanis openat the top except for the portion which is immediately under therefractory liner 6. It is also open at the front so that ready accessmay be had to the ashpan when in the generator through door 11 or sothat the ashpan contents may be examined through slide door 11a fittedon the main door 11.

A modification in the construction of the ashpan is shown in Figures 5and 6 in which the base plate 14 is provided with feet 20 so that an airpassage is provided beneath the pan in which case the pan may also haveinternal vertical walls 21 provided with slots or slits 19a as well aswith the external walls provided with the slots or slits 19.

At the top of the lining 6 there is provided an annular chamber 22 witha perforated inside wall, such chamber serving for the purpose of thereception of a regulated quantity of water which may be fed to it, whenworking on the down draught system, by pipe 23 from water tank 24situated on the side of the drum 2 controlled by the ordinary needlevalve or drip feed regulator 25, a valve 23a being provided to excludesuch supply when not required. The annular chamber 22 also serves (whenworking on the rip-draught or the combined up and down draught system)as a collecting ring for the gas for which a suitable conduit 26 isprovided.

The annular chamber 9 formed in the base of the generator by angle ring8 serves for the reception of a regulated quantity of water (whenworking on the up-draught system) by the pipe 27 controlled by the dripfeed regulator 25 in connection with the water tank 24, a valve 27abeing interposed to exclude the supply when not required. The chamber 9also serves for the reception of gas when working on the down draughtsystem" and is provided with a suitable conduit 28 to which is connecteda T piece 29. To the flange 30 on the T piece 29 is connected a suitablevalve 31 for use when working on the rip-draught system or combined upand down draught system.

The vertical leg 32 of T piece 29 is provided with a suitable hand powerfan 33 fitted with a slide 34, the said'fan being used for starting uppurposes and the slide for of the fuel container is the inclined base 37790 which is provided with a tubular dependence or spout 38 thatactually constitutes an'auxiliary furnace, the said spout being made ofnon-corrosive heat-resisting metal and is of N such diameter that anarrow passage 39 is formed between its wall and the liner 6. Passingthrough the side of the container 2 there is a tube 40, one end of whichpasses into the centre of the container at a posit on v directly abovethe spout 38. A regulating valve 41' is provided in the tube 40 outsidethe container 2 by which a regulated quantlty of air can be allowed topass when working the generator on the combined up and down draughtsystem or'the combined down 1105 draught system.

A brief description of the method of operating the above describedapparatus may be now given referring to Figure 1 and assuming it isdesired to work on the up-"' draught system, the lid 36 is removed andwhen the fire in the ashpan or receptacle 12 is kindled the door 11 isclosed. The valve 31 is closed and the slide 34 on fan 33 is open.

The fan 33 is set in motion so that air is forced through the conduit 28into annular chamber 9 then by passages 10 into space 18 and finallythrough the slits or slots 19 into the ashpan or receptacle 12 and thenthrough the fuel finally proceeding via passage 39 into the annularchamber 22 to pass through conduit 26 on its way to the engine. When thefire iswell alight the container 2 is filled with fuel and the lid 36fixed in position. The fan 33 is then rotated until the fuel is of asufficiently high temperature when the fan is stopped and water isallowed to pass into the annular chamber 9 where it is vaporized andmixes with they incoming air. The engine to which the generator isfitted is then started and the generator then works by engine suction,the air being drawn through the fan slide opening through the conduit 28is mixed with steam in annular chamber 9 andis finally drawn into theashpan 12 by the passage described whence it passes through theincandescent fuel, is converted into gas and passes through the passage39. chamber 22 and pipe 26 on its way to scrubbers preparatory toentering the engine.

The clinker or slag which in the case of the grate type generatorusually form on the grate now forms in the ashpan or receptacle 12 andas a rule in a molten or semi-fluid condition falls to the bottom of thepan where it can remain throughout the days work of the generator or maybe removed occasionally through door slide 11a if required. It should beunderstood that the depth of the ashpan 12 is based upon a maximum ashcontent of the type of fuel used and is calculated to make possible longperiods of running required from this type of apparatus without troubledue to air stoppage, The air slots or slits 19 in the ashpan arecalculated to supply much more air than is necessary for the efficientoperation of the generator so that even if the slots or slits, due tolong periods of running, become partially covered with the molten orsemi-fluid clinker from the base upwards, sufiicient air can still passinto the generator to maintain efficiency. The engine which produces thesuction on the generator only draws into the generator sufficient air toproduce the gas so that the extra provision of air passages is ofconsiderable importance.

It will also be understood from the accompanying drawing that bypartially closing the slide an on fan 33 and opening the air valve 41 tothe requisite degree, that a double draught will be obtained on thegenerator and that the fuel in the spout 38 will become ignited. The gasfrom this fuel will pass through the incandescent fuel in the generatorbelow the spout and any tarry matter will be consumed, yet at the sametime, owing to the fuel above the ashpan being subjected to anup-draught, the calorific value of the gas delivered from the pipe 26will be maintained.

In order to operate the generator by the down-draught principle thevalve 31 is opened and is connected to the scrubbers and thence to theengine. The fuel in the generator is then ignited as in the case of theupdraught above described and as soon as gas is obtained the engine isstarted up, air then being drawn by suction through pipe 26, through theannular ring 22, down passage 89, through the incandescent fuel, the gasthen leaving the ashpan 12 by slots 19 passes through passages 10 to theannular chamber 9 and thence through pipe 28 to the scrubbers. Beforestarting the engine the slide 34 on fan 33 must of course be fullyclosed. When working down-draught a regulated quantity of water isallowed to enter annular ring 22 from pipe 23 and in the case of verytarry fuels, for which the down-draught system is usually employed, itis possible, by opening valve 41 to the requisite degree, to ignite thefuel in spout furnace 38, the tarry gas from which, by being drawnthrough the incandescent fuel below the spout, is purified owing to thetarry matter being consumed.

It should be understood that while the above improvements are intendedmore particularly to facilitate the employment of low temperature cokeas fuel, they are also applicable to ordinary known fuels, and in fact,with certain fuels such as those with very low ash content such ascharcoal, result in increased efficiency owing to the vastly increasedair inlet area made possible by the vertical slots 19 as against theordinary grate area available in a generator of the same size fittedwith the usual grate upon which the fuel rests.

What I claim is In a producer gas generator for automobile enginescomprising two cylindrical drums, the upper adapted to contain fuel,provided with a removable cover and a conical base, a lower drum havinga refractory lining therein supported by an annular ring at the base, aperforated annular ring mounted on said lining, pipes communicating withsaid base and said collector ring, and a removable perforated ash pancommunicating with a door in said base, the improvement comprising meansfor admitting regulated quantities of water to the base of saidgenerator and to the said annular collecting ring, a valved air inletipe communicating with the interior of sai upper drum, and a perforatedbaffle ring spaced from said ash pan and forming a gas chamber with saidbase.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

NORMAN CLARKE JoNEs.

